Honestly, I’m still trying to recharge after an EPIC week so I can’t promise to have it all together in this blog post but if you take anything out of this post, let it be this:

You are entirely up to you. You get to craft your life, no one else. So if you want it to be magical, then make it magical – YOU HAVE THAT POWER! And no one can stop you.

How do I know this? Because I live it every single day. And this week has been a living testament of that. Not just for myself, but for my squad.

Just to briefly recap – here’s what happened.. I went to New Orleans with a whole squad of Iconic Wine Beauties, lived my best life, caught the first flight home on the 9th to be with Kodah on his birthday AND threw him a party, then spent the next few days with my in-laws, my husband is shooting his TV show (which naturally throws our normal routine off course a bit) and as a mega introvert, I didn’t just use up all my energy this week, I drained up my entire reserve every single day of the week so to even say that I’m running “on empty” is the biggest understatement of the year.

But somehow.. at the same time.. I’m so full. My heart is exploding with gratitude. I’m the happiest and most fulfilled I’ve ever been. The people around me are thriving, my husband is happy, my children are healthy, and wow.. just wow.

So what exactly went down? And how can you be part of this revolution? Let me explain..

Monday + Tuesday

We heard there was a hurricane heading for New Orleans. (Cue ALL of the freak outs!) But then.. also cue all of the positive manifestations because somehow it all went away. And THANK GOD because I wrote cards and made hotel door signs for every single tribe member who was going to NOLA with us!

Wednesday

I still caught my flight. I meant up with my best friend, Lorraine and my brand partner, Tamara who flew all the way out from Australia to be with us! So naturally, we started our trip off by grabbing a drink at the airport bar at 8am.

Once we landed, we checked into our hotel, waited 2 hours for our luggage to be sent up from the bell hop and then wondered off to find food. We ended up at Red Fish Grill and WOW – delish!

Thursday

Most of the rest of our tribe arrived so since I booked the Presidential Suite, I hosted a cute “Girls Night In” in my room. We ordered pizza, drank wine and champagne, wore cute PJ’s, did cute face masks, stalked an episode of NCIS that was being filmed on the rooftop of the building below us, listened to throwback music and of course took a ton of ridiculously cute photos. (lol jk.. they were cute in theory)

And! I made cute little gift bags for everyone who came. I added some energy drink packets, candy, a disposable phone charger and some Vitamin B packets to add to your water so no one got hangovers. (Note to friends: Those packets only work if you actually drink them lmao)

And just when I thought the night was over and everyone was going back to their own rooms so we could be well-rested for the big weekend ahead.. we found ourselves in a country bar with Meraiah and Damaris riding the bull HAHAHAH

Friday

We registered for the wine convention we were attending. We also wore our really cute IWB jean jackets (that we each handmade during a series of wine + DIY nights.) After we registered, we attended a couple of wine workshops (because in all honesty, we actually don’t know anything about wine. We just drink it and have fun parties/take cute photos)

Then we all met back in my room where we sat on the floor in a giant circle and took turns telling each other what we’re grateful for. Tears were shed. Bonds were made. Friendships were strengthened and that’s LITERALLY what we live for. Money can’t buy what we’ve built and it makes me so proud to have such an incredible team of women in my circle.

Friday night there was also a welcome reception where we wore our team color. But first..

MAGIC.

We wrote our wishes on pretty paper and sent off to the universe for her to make them come true. And so far.. some of them already have.

Saturday

This was the day of the convention and it was absolutely MAGICAL. It started with Meraiah doing make up for me and my friend/mentor, Amanda. (And it came out SO perfectly too!)

Then I gave a presentation on stage with Amanda. I also won THREE awards, was presented a giant bonus check on stage and 3 of my tribe members ranked up all within HOURS of each other.

THIS calls for a CELEBRATION! #amirite
Our company closed down the streets of New Orleans with a police-escorted parade down Bourbon St. The Iconic Wine Beauty in me said “DRESS ALIKE!” and the MOM in me said “WEAR A BRIGHT COLOR SO EVERYONE CAN FIND EACH OTHER IN THE CROWDS” and that’s when we adopted the color “yellow” for the night.

I’m not gonna lie though.. After such a LONG day and, really, a long weekend/week/couple of weeks/month I was EXHAUSTED and tried my hardest not to fall asleep at the dinner table. Waking up SUPER early, doing LOTS of people-ing and crushing my dreams/goals then to turn around and catch an early flight on Sunday to get home for Kodah’s birthday AND throw him a birthday party.. it’s been a lot.

But I’d be lying if I said I’m not so proud we pulled it off. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel like SUPERMOM and a great leader. I’d be lying if I said I’m not proud of everything we accomplished that weekend and I’d be lying if I said I’m not even MORE proud about WHERE WE ARE GOING!

So what’s next?

Well, only time will tell.

What I DO know is that the rest of 2018 is going to be MAGICAL AF and I have NO WORDS for 2019. Just.. wait and see.

But you can count on our tribe getting bigger and stronger. If any of this caught your interest and you want to learn more about how you can be part of our Girl Gang Wine Club, don’t be shy – shoot me an email bryiana@iconicbeauties.com and let’s make magic together!

Honestly, I’m blown away by the amount of people who needed to know what this plastic, long sleeve bib is all about. And that inspired me to share my top 3 life saving things that every mom should know about. Disclaimer: These are the 3 most important things to US as a family that work perfectly for OUR family.

Number 1: Amber Necklace

Hands down, number one most important thing (to us!) This has been seen in many of my IG posts featuring Kodah because he has literally worn it every single day since he was 3 months old. (Like this picture. And this one. And this one.)

It was a gift to us that was purchased from a family member at a small boutique in LA. (They’re also on Amazon!) Just make sure they’re 100% amber. But Kodah has never, ever fussed due to teething. (SO grateful!) So I swear by it. If you invite me to your baby shower, just know that this is what I’m buying you.

Number 2: On Guard Essential Oils

I’m gonna be really real here and just say that since I no longer have a relationship with most of my family members, I was pretty bummed to lose my doTERRA distributor because the On Guard oil is literally like magic in a bottle. (Fortunately, one of the newest members of our Girl Gang Wine Club is a distributor and I will be her new happy customer)

I have a bad immune system. Like really bad. And that’s part of the reason I used to never want kids. But with this oil, I swear I never have to worry about anything. At the first sign of a cold or runny nose, I put those oil in a humidifier and Kodah goes right back to normal the next day. As a mom who really, truly cares about my kids’ health and well-being, this is a huge thing to keep on standby. I can honestly say that Kodah and Nala are two of the healthiest kids I’ve ever met. (And I am so, so, so, so, so, soooo grateful for that!!!!)

Number 3: Plastic, long sleeve bibs

The one you’ve all been waiting for lol.

Yes, for every meal Kodah wears a long sleeve plastic bib that ties in back. I can’t even begin to tell you how many articles of clothing we have saved from being completely destroyed because.. in case you haven’t noticed babies and toddlers are not the cleanest of eaters.

You just search for “long sleeve, plastic bib” on Amazon, you’ll find ones like this but with a ton of different prints!

Bonus: Wine.

Obvi for the moms. (And dads!) This one is just as necessary as all the other ones. I’m grateful to be part of a wine club that will ship 4 bottles of magical perfection to my front door every month. The best part is my wine is free because I’ve referred 3 other people to the club. So if you love wine, know 3 other people who also like wine and want to get free wine shipped to you every month, let’s chat.

Have you ever heard the saying “you can’t pour from an empty cup”?

Well, it stems from the idea that you have to take care of yourself before you can take care of anyone else. Kind of like how you’re supposed to put your oxygen mask on first before you help the person next to you if there’s an emergency while on an airplane.

I’ve been hearing “you can’t pour from an empty cup” since 2014 – when I first started my personal development journey.

BUT a couple weeks ago, I was talking to my best friend, Adri, about a conference she went to and she totally changed this up for me in a way that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about ever since she brought it up.

We all know you can’t pour from an empty cup. You have to take care of yourself before you can take care of anyone else. So self-care isn’t selfish, it’s necessary. In fact, IT IS SELFISH of you NOT to take care of yourself! (Think about it, if your cup is empty, you’re negative, a Debbie-downer and no one wants to be around you.) But when you’re full and filled with life and happiness, everyone wants to be around you! People NEED more of that!

So she said, if your cup isn’t full, like, completely full, you’re taking away from your own happiness to give to someone else. It’s leaving you a little empty and them a little empty too because you can’t pour into them fully.

But if you fill your cup up all the way (meaning you’re at your personal best!) you can give your “overflow” to others. The more you take care of yourself, the better you can take care of others.

That changed the game for me.

Because it’s so true!

If you think about it, when your cup is overflowing, you don’t have to take anything anyway from anyone (including yourself) AND you get to help the people around you do the same! If you keep your cup overflowing and teach other people how to overfill their cups, could you imagine how much better the world would be?!

Maybe that’s the secret to world peace.

I mean.. idk for sure.. But I’m willing to find out. So that’s my personal mission.

How’s your cup looking these days? Do you think your life and the lives of those closest to you would be a little better if your cup was filled all the way up?

Hahahaha, I’ve always wanted to say that. I’m really not. But this week, I went to Miami for a photography workshop hosted by Joey Wright! His workshop has been on my vision board for a few YEARS already and I finally decided to go this year because back in December, a VERY pregnant Bryiana Dyrdek decided that in 2018 I was going to do all the things I’ve always wanted to say “yes” to, but have somehow managed to make up an excuse for. So far, I’m doing really good at sticking to this resolution and let me tell you – it is REVOLUTIONIZING my life! I feel like I whole new me and it’s only mid-April! (But also, on the note- WTF IT’S ALREADY APRIL?!)

Anyway, back in April of 2016 a barely-pregnant Bryiana Dyrdek bought Joey’s FStoppers tutorial, thinking to myself “if I can actually learn from this, then I’ll buy my camera and gear.” Because “learn photography” was on my vision board.

After watching the video, I decided “I got this” so in June of 2016, I bought my camera, a couple lenses and some other random gear.

Then Joey announced his 2018 workshop and I bought my ticket! Then booked my hotel.. then booked my flight. Then a week before the workshop, I FINALLY picked up my camera (yes, two years later) to practice on Nora because I knew I was going to this workshop and I at least needed to know how to operate my camera. Hahaha.

For context, this is one of the pictures that was shot during our “shoot” lol. #WheresNora

Speaking of Nora, she decided at the last minute to book her flight to Miami and came with me. We accidentally got mega wine drunk immediately upon arrival because we couldn’t find a restaurant that was open, but the bar was. So the plan was to grab a drink while we waited for the restaurant to open, but since we didn’t have any food in our bodies until that point, the wine hit us extra hard.

PS – Nora also thought she saw Julia Roberts. Hahahahahaha (still dying)

But back to the workshop –

I learned SO much. Had a GREAT time. Made a MEGA rookie mistake: I accidentally deleted the pictures on my memory card. (But fingers crossed that Samys Cameras can recover the lost images.) I got to hang out with Nora and our friend/fellow Iconic Beauty/fellow Iconic Wine Beauty, Victoria and I got to cross a MAJOR thing off my vision board.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t dealing with some MAJOR mom-guilt leading up to leaving though.

But here’s the thing: I can’t spend my whole life telling my kids to chase their biggest, wildest dreams, respect themselves, forgive themselves and love themselves if they spend their whole lives watching me do the complete opposite for myself. So yes – there was a part of me that felt selfish for leaving for a few days but Kodah is 19 months old and Nala is 3.5 months old. They have no concept of time. They don’t know that I was gone. But if they were older and I didn’t chase after my dreams, they would grow up with a mom filled with self-doubt and regret. In 2018, I am challenging myself to be a kick ass mom, perfect wife and dream chaser. After we have more kids, picking up and living won’t even be an option. If all I have is 2018 to make my random dreams come true, then I’m going to seize the hell out of this year.

Because my kids deserve a mom they can be proud of. My husband deserves a wife he can brag about. And I deserve to live a life that fulfills me in every sense of the meaning. I want to do it all. I want to be it all. And it starts here and now.

Okay, but seriously though – back to the workshop.

Thursday was lecture day.

We spent most of the day in the classroom with Joey. He had a great presentation that went over his pre-production process and then we went to the beach around sunset time for a posing demo. Which so good!

I also got asked if I thought it was weird that I was the only girl in the class. But it’s 2018. Of course I didn’t think it was weird that I was the only girl in the class. I didn’t even think about that lol. I thought it was weird that I was the only one in the class who wasn’t a photographer!

Friday was the hands-on stuff.

We started with a sunset shoot and 4 different models, then we ended the day with a sunset shoot with the same models. Knowing that I’m not a photographer, Joey pulled me aside during one of my rotations and broke down the basics for me on a handful of different things and I can’t even begin to tell you how much I appreciated that. I’ve always really looked up to and respected Joey. I was just happy to be there! But the fact that he took the time to teach me a little more, made me less intimated to be there.

Saturday was a retouching demo and a portfolio review.

This is where I basically ruined my life and accidentally deleted the pictures from my memory card. That I borrowed form another photographer. Because I didn’t bring a back up memory card. Since my brain didn’t think that far ahead. Extra rookie mistake.

But there were a handful of AMAZING guys there who were willing and happy to help me figure it all out. I’m so used to starting any new journey with the mentality that “I don’t belong” and “everyone’s going to hate me” which has prevented me from even attempting to step out of my comfort zone on SO many occasions.

I LOVED Thursday. I LOVED Friday. And I LOVED Saturday. But I extra loved the experience of overcoming a new challenge. To sum it all up, these are a few of my COMPLETELY UNEDITED favorite shots from the workshop. (Keep in mind – I’M NOT A PHOTOGRAPHER – So don’t judge me. And, I’m still waiting for the pictures from my other memory to magically make their way back to me lol.)

Hannah

Abby

ALLI

BONNIE

Workshop hosted by Joey Wright: http://www.joeywrightphoto.com

Models were Hannah and Abby and Alli and Bonnie

Moderated by Chris Headshots and Dante and Victor

Hair + Make Up by Anna Horton and Jenny Dyson

Swimwear provided by Beach Gal and Montce and Aria

Assisted by by Lily and Carly

Of course I want to thank YOU for bearing with me during this mega long blog post. But I also want to extend a MEGA warm thank you to everyone who made this past weekend so special. I am so grateful to have had this incredible experience. If you’ve ever considered photography but don’t know where to get started, I HIGHLY recommend Joey’s workshop regardless of your experience. #NotAnAd